Best preamp to dial in the fretless "mwah"

I still can't find that sound in my head. It's the Pino Palladino "Boys of Summer, New York Minute" fretless sound on the Don Henley albums. I have the bass but can't get the amp dialed in. I have a tech 21 sans amp DI and use it set to the SVT settings for the fretted bass and it has the nice deep boomy sound but when I switch to the fretless it needs some mid push and the sans amp can't do it.

Set the mids for 800 Hz and push the mid level to 3:00 or so. And wind the BLEND up to maybe 2:00.

Instant growl!

The drive works only on the midrange (I have heard -- still haven't had it verified) so the lows come through sweet and warm, but the mids growl like an 800-pound soaking wet bumblebee. Perhaps you could tell, I LOVE mine. Never shut it off!

Set the mids for 800 Hz and push the mid level to 3:00 or so. And wind the BLEND up to maybe 2:00.

Instant growl!

The drive works only on the midrange (I have heard -- still haven't had it verified) so the lows come through sweet and warm, but the mids growl like an 800-pound soaking wet bumblebee. Perhaps you could tell, I LOVE mine. Never shut it off!

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So what your saying is you like you AcousticDI... right?

eli is right; It does make the midrange growl. It can also simulate the growl of an acoustic or hollow body basses, even freted ones. It can make a Mahogany bodied bass sound huge.

Is that true about the drive-specific midrange? So I could roll off the highs, and blend in the clean lows with my fat, fuzzed out mids for a nifty fuzz tone? I like the sound of that. 800hz is my new favourite frequency...instant P-tone.

Originally posted by Mad Subwoofer Is that true about the drive-specific midrange? So I could roll off the highs, and blend in the clean lows with my fat, fuzzed out mids for a nifty fuzz tone? I like the sound of that. 800hz is my new favourite frequency...instant P-tone.

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I was with you until you said "P-tone"... that growl at 800 Hz is one of the few things a P doesn't do well -- that's why I had to add a bridge position J pu to my first P after I heard Jaco for the first time.

800 hz is that Precision bass mid-hump. When I want my Warwick to sound more "vintage" I goose that frequency to great effect. Many modern basses can acheive a warmer, more "wood-like" tone when you play with that freq. point. These are subjective terms I know but I learned the trick after reading of other players experiances with it. Works great. The Jaco bridge p/u "J-tone" is something very different....

leaving aside effects 4 a second, I always found the best way to get that killer 'mwah' was to play practically on the neck of the bass (roughly where the neck meets the body)...sounds great on any amp.

Originally posted by Murf leaving aside effects 4 a second, I always found the best way to get that killer 'mwah' was to play practically on the neck of the bass (roughly where the neck meets the body)...sounds great on any amp.

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I was going to say that "mwah" is all about how you play - your touch - where exactly you put your fingers and how you allow the note to bloom - and nothing at all to do with amps, preamps, effects or whatever!!

If you don't hear it "acoustically", then nothing you do with electronics will get this!

A sound is so hard to explain. The attack, I get is OK, the bass does the "mwah" decay when I play, it just seems to get buried by the sans amp when set to the SVT settings. I guess what i'm looking for is how to EQ out that critical range. The 800 Mhz reply is helpful. Now, other than the acoustic sans amp, any preamps especially good at dialing in that frequecy that you have used?

Originally posted by VicDamone Fingerboard relief, string type, and string hight may be another part of the formula.

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Sorry I didn't mention this. To mwah, a fretless has to be set up pretty low and slinky -- fairly stright neck (though PERFECTLY straight is not necessary) and pretty low action. My E string is only 1/16" above the fingerboard at the 12th "fret". Roundwounds also help "mwah" with their accentuated highs.

Originally posted by stingrayguy the mwah is bassicly the sound of the fretboard being eaten up. thus jaco's epoxy and pedulla's thick coating. if the neck is too straight you'll get more of a buzz thatn a good earthy MUAH!

I was going to say that "mwah" is all about how you play - your touch - where exactly you put your fingers and how you allow the note to bloom - and nothing at all to do with amps, preamps, effects or whatever!!

If you don't hear it "acoustically", then nothing you do with electronics will get this!

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This is more true than anything else said! You can make a $10k bass sound like a jay turser if you have untrained touch. Personally, the preamp doesn't matter as much if you practice and train yourself to figure out where the sweetspots are on the bass and your hands for your right and left...and thats where real fretless tone comes from: pure touch.

This is more true than anything else said! You can make a $10k bass sound like a jay turser if you have untrained touch. Personally, the preamp doesn't matter as much if you practice and train yourself to figure out where the sweetspots are on the bass and your hands for your right and left...and thats where real fretless tone comes from: pure touch.

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According to fred, I'm 150% true. That's definitely more true than what Bruce said.